You need kids like me...???

I am not easily shocked; but, this is pretty crazy.  Marc Klasfeld of Rockhard Films put on a remake of the 1983 gangster movie Scarface...with kids.  Seven to ten year old children to be exact.  Scarface is one of my favorite movies of all time, but that doesn't make me at all interested in this child abuse stage version.

You can check out the article on CNN for the full story.

What a twisted individual.  The video above shows a few highlights (or lowlights depending on how you look at it) of the production.  The full version can be found on YouTube if you are so inclined.  Throughout the play the children actually do a pretty good job of re-creating the Brian DePalma film.  From piles of popcorn filling in for cocaine, NERF guns for actual weapons or abreviated curse words for expletives the children are eerily close to the film version of Scarface. 

Call me old-fashioned, but I don't think replacing "fudge" and "B" for the actual swear words is acceptable language for a 7 year old.  Introducing these children to this culture at their formative ages is a disgrace; this is especially true because the children are in the spotlight.  They are incouraged and rewarded for their acceptance and proficiency in swearing and gun waving.  It doesn't take a child psychologist to know that the children will now see this as acceptable behavior and replicate it later in life.

Klasfeld claims that it is all in the spirit of the 'viral video.' The producer goes on to say that he thinks the experience is positive for the children as it prepares them to deal with violence that exisits in the world.

Mr. Klasfeld, you are an idiot.  You should be put in jail for taking advantage of these children for your own benefit. 

The Dude Wins an Ocsar - Far Out Man

This is my first post in a while.  Unfortunately, work took over my life for the last few weeks.



So, as most of you probably already know, Jeff Bridges won the Oscar for Best Actor in a leading role, this past Sunday.  He was awarded for his role as 'Bad" in Crazy Heart.  In the video above, you can see Bridges' reaction to winning the award - it's pretty funny.

Kate and I saw the movie earlier this week, and I absolutely loved it.  Bridges performance was spectacular, especially so in conjunction with the mediocre performances of his supporting cast (strangely hot - strangely ugly Maggie Gyllenhaal,  the far past his prime Robert Duvall, and the never had a prime Colin Farrell).  The movie was a love story with a strong commentary on alcoholism - not what I expected to say the least.  Bridges' character, Bad, was even shown going to rehab and getting clean.  Despite catching me off gaurd, I really did love the movie.  Bridges was the perfect person for the role.  He absolutely killed the part and explored every facet of the character.

Another character that Jeff Bridges absolutely killed was 'Jeffrey The Dude Lebowski' (not the millionare). Many (including this writer) agree that The Dude was Bridges' most defining role.  Bridges paid homage to The Big Lebowski and declined to write off the role as many reporters prodded him to.  In the clip above he even made an anology to his life with a quote from The Dude "you know man, strikes and gutters, ups and downs."

It is an interesting observation that one easily can find traits of Bridges in all of his characters.  However, each character is distinct and unique in its own way.  I look forward to enjoying Bridges' acting for many years to come.  And with every role he plays, I will be sure to drop in a number of Lebowski references.  Until then, I raise my caucasian to you Jeff...I mean his dudeness, or El Duderino (if you're not in to the whole brevity thing).